Container



March 25,1941.. y H, A, SCOT? 2,236,302

y CONTAINER 1 mied June 19, 19:59

, INVENTOR fla/ry A. 560%?? A iBY y v ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 25, 1941UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE amsn T l CONTAINER Application June 19,1939, Serial No. 279,925

3 Claims. (Cl. 220-61) My invention relates to containers. It has to do,more particularly, with a retaining or clamping ring adapted to beapplied to the end of a cylindrical container in lorder to retain a re.-

5 movable head or closurevin position at the end of the container. y

This invention is particularly applicable to containers of :the general-type disclosedv inI the copending application of Hans A. Eggerss,Serial o No. 158,768, illed August 12, 1937, although it is notnecessarily limited thereto. 'Ihe container disclosed in said co-pendingapplication embodies a cylindrical body portion having a metalhead forclosing the end thereof, a retaining and clamping ring being providedfor retaining the head in position. This invention specifically relatesto the retaining and clamping ring. Although the retaining and clampingring disclosed in said application has a number of desirable features,the retaining ring constituting this invention has a number ofadditional advantages.

One of Ithe objects of my invention is to provide a retaining andclamping ring of the type indicated which is of such a nature that itmay be readily applied to the container and will securely hold the headin position and may bel readily removed in order to permit removal ofthe head. e

' Another object of my invention 'is -to provide a retaining andclamping ring of the type indicated which is such a nature that it maybe used over and-over again since it is so constructed that it will notbe injured during its application to the container, during its useon thecontainer..

or during its removal from the container.

Another object of my invention is to provide a retaining 'and clampingring `of'the type indicated which vis split to facilitate application'tol the container and removal therefrom, -novel 40 means being provided inassociation with the ends of thering forcontracting it around thecontainer and for locking it in contracted condition.

Another object of my invention is to provide a split retaining andclamping ring of the type indicated which is of such a nature that aseparate tool is not required for applying it to and contracting itaround the container and which does not have any loose locking parts forlocking the ends of the ring together.

Another object yof my invention is to provide a split retaining andclamping ring of the type indicated wherein the ring contracting vandlocking means is so located and ofy such a nature that there will be noprojecting or exposed portions which will be'subject to injury or whichwill injure a person handling the container.

In its preferred form my invention contemplates the provision, inassociation with a split ring of the type indicated, of mechanism forcontracting the ring around the container and for v locking it incontracted condition. This mechanism comprises a lever pivoted to oneend oi' the' ring and a link pivoted' -to the opposite end of thering.lThe link is also pivoted to the lever at a 1o point spaced from thepoint where the lever is 'pivoted to the end of the ring. Wheny the ringis in expanded condition, the lever and the link project outwardlytherefrom. However, when the lever is swung inwardly, the ends of thering 15 are moved into abutting relationship and the l ring iscontracted. At this time the lever andl link are substantially ilushwith the ring. The ring is provided with a curved rib or bead and thelever and link are provided with similarly 'gn curved portions whichembrace the rib. The

curved portion on the link overlaps the adjacent ends oi' the ring andholds them in augment. Suitable means is also associated with the ringfor holding the lever in the position it occupies 23 when the ring iscontracted.

The preferred embodiment'of my invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawing wherein similar characters of reference designatecorresponding parts and wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view lshowing a retaining ring having myinvention associated therewith applied to the upper end of thecontainer.

Figure 2 is a perspective view, partly cut away, 35

showing the means which I preferably provide for contracting the ringand locking it in con-V tracted condition.

Figure 3 is a top lplan view illustrating the device shown in Figure 2,the operating lever w thereof being swung outwardly to cause expansionof the ring.

Figure 4 is a similar view but showing the lever l swung inwardly tocontract the ring.

' although it may be made oi.' other material.

The retainingl ring III which I provide for retaining the head 2 inposition on the body portion I is a split retaining and clamping ring.It is adapted to be contracted around -the upper end of the containerand is provided with a portion adapted to cooperate with the head and aportion adapted to cooperate with the body portion of the container sothat the head will be held securely in position. It is also providedwith novel means for contracting it around the container and for lockingit in contracted condi-tion.

As villustrated in the drawing, the retaining ringhas an inwardlyprojecting portion II on its lower edge which isadapted to extend intoan external grooveformed by bending the body portion of lthe containerin the manner described in said co-pending application. The upper edgeof the retaining ring has a portion I4 formed `thereon which is adaptedto embrace a corresponding portion of the head 2 in order to retain thehead in position. Between these upper and lower portions I4 and II' isan outwardly curved or convex rib portion I 6. 'I'his portion I6cooperated with a bead formed on the head 2 in order to retain it inposition. When the split retaining ring I0 is positioned on thecontainer and is contracted, the head will be held securely in positionon the container.

In order to contract the ring around the container and to hold it incontracted condition, I preferably provide the structure illustrated inFigures l to 7, inclusive. This structure is associated with the ends ofthe split ring which are adapted to be brought into abuttingrelationship with each other.

This structure comprises an operating lever I1 which has its inner endpivoted .to one end ol.' the split ring III as at I8. 'I'his lever I1'lspivotally connected at the point I6, spaced from the point I8, to theouter end of a link 26. This link 20 has its inner end pivotallyconnected at 2| to the opposite end of `the split ring I0. `It will be`noted that the lever I1 is bowed throughout its length to a curvaturecorresponding substantially to that of the ring I6. The same is true .ofthelink 20. It will also be noted that the lever I1 has a cross-sectionsubstantially corresponding to that of the rib I6 of the ring s0 that itwilll t over and embraceA the rib when it is swung inwardly. Thus, thelever I1 is substaiziially U-shaped in cross-section as indicated at thelever terminates at the point 23 close to the pivot point Il so as notto interfere with the swinging movement of the lever. The link `2l isprovided with a similar portion 24 of U crosssection adapted to `embracethe rib I6. This portion 24 is so located, as will appear later, thatitwill overlap and embrace both ends of the ring at the point where theyabut each other.l The portion 24 terminates at a point 25 so as not ltointerfere with the relative swinging movements of the lever I1 and link26.

In order to lock the lever I1 in position when it is swung inwardly, Iprovide the locking lever 26. This lever 26 is pivoted to the same endor l the ring as the lever vi1 at the POint 21 which is I However, thisU-shaped body portion of located from the point I8 a distance slightlygreater than the lengthv of the lever I1. This locking lever 26 is bowedthroughout its length to the same curvature as the ring I0. It is alsoof U-shaped cross-section, as indicated at 21a, and is adapted toembrace the lever I1. At its pivot point 21, lever 26 has an eccentriccam portion 21b formed therein. This cam portion will engage a notch21c'in the end of lever I1. When lever 26 is swung inwardly the cam 21hand notch 21e produce a camming action which serves to force lever I1inwardly against the ring and lock it in position. Lever 26 is alsoprovided with a projection 28 on the inner surface of its lower portionwhich' is adapted to snap into a cooperating opening 29 formed in thelower portion of the lever I1 when the lever 26 is swung into embracingrelationship with the lever I1. The lever 26 is also provided on itsouter end with a depending lug 3|! which will lie adjacent la dependinglug 3| on lever I1 when the lever 26 embraces lever I1. These lugs areprovided with lopenings through which a wire seal 32 may be passed inthe manner illustrated in Figure 5.

When the retaining ring l0 is applied to the container it will be inexpanded condition and the various parts of my device will be in thepositions illustrated in 'Figure 3. After the retaining ring ispositioned on the container, the operating lever I1 is swung inwardly.This will cause the link 20 to pull the end of the ring to which it isconnected towards the other end of the ring and will cause the inner endof the lever l1 tc push the end of the ring to which it is connectedtowards the end to which the link is connected. The lever I1 will beswung inwardly until it embraces the ring. The portion 24 of the link 20will also embrace the ring. This portion will extend over the jointbetween the adjacent ends of the ring. Thus, the portion 24 will serveto align the ends of the ring and keep them in alignment. It will benoted that the pivot point I9 is so located that as the lever I1 swingsinwardly to its nnal position, the pivot point I9 moves inwardly beyondthe pivot points I8 and 2i. This tends to cause the levez` I1 to snapinto its final position and exerts a force tending to cause it to stayin such position. When the lever I1 reaches its iinal position, thelever 26 is swung inwardly until it embraces the lever I1, the cam 21hengages with the notch 21e which locks lever I1 in its iinal position.and the projection 26 snaps into the opening 29 which will hold thelever 26 in locking position. Then the wire seal 32 may be applied.

I'his structure has many advantages. some of structure the ring can beused over and over again. No tool is required in applying the ring.

I1 and no loose locking parts, which might be lost, are required. Thelevers and link are shaped to tightlyembrace the ring so that they willbe out of the way and will be protected from injury. Having the leversand the link of U-shaped cross-section increases the rigidity thereof;Inaddition, due to the fact that the lever I1 embraces the curved rib I6of the rim, the tendency for -the lever to bend downwardly, caused bythe pivot point I8 being lower than the pivot point I6, will be offset.Also, the U-shaped cross-section portion of. the ,link embraces the endsof the ring and keeps-them in alignment.

It will be apparent from the above description vantages. Most of theadvantages have been y that I have provided a device having many adylprojection which others will bev apand the iollowinl discussed herein.However. parent i'rom the drawing claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A split ring adapted to be applied to a container or similar article,said split ring having ends which areadapted to be disposed adjacenteach other when in contracted condition, means for contracting andexpanding said ring, saidmeans comprising 'a lever pivoted to one end otsaid ring, a link pivoted to the other end ot said ring and to saidlever intermediate its ends, means for locking said lever after it hasbeen moved inwardly into its nal position. said means comprising asecond lever pivoted to saidA ring adjacent the free end of said ilrstlever, the pivoted end of said second lever comprising a cameccentricaily rotatable on said pivot, the adiacent free end oi saidilrst lever having a projec v tion which in operative positionsubstantially contacts said cam, said projection and said camcooperating to aid in moving into final locking position said rst leveras said second lever is moving into its ilnal position.

2. A split ring adapted to be applied to a container or similar article,said split ring having an outer surface which is substantially U-shape,said ring being adapted to have its ends adiacent each other when incontracted condition, means for contracting and expanding said ring.said means comprising a lever pivoted to one end of said ring, a'linkpivoted lto the other end Vof said ring and to said. lever intermediateits ends.

said lever being substantially U-shape in crosssection so that when itis swung inwardly into contact with said ring it will ilt aroundand-embrace said ring, said link also being substantially U-shape incross-section so that when itA is swung inwardly into contact with saidring it will fit around and embrace said ring, said link being sodisposed that whenit has been swung inwardly it will overlap theadjacent ends of said ringand will hold them in alignment. with eachother, means for locking said-lever after it has' been moved inwardlyinto .its nnai'position, said means comprisingl a second lever pivotedto said ring adjacent the free end of said first lever.

the pivoted end of said second lever-' a cam eccentrically rotatable onpivot, the, adjacent i'ree endo! said nrst lever having! cooperating toinoperative position substantially contactssaid cam, said projection andsaid cam cooperating to aidin moving into final locking position saidfirst lever as said second lever is moving into its, nnai position, saidsecond lever being substantially .U-shape in cross-section similar tothe first lever` so that it will em-` brace said ilrst lever when swunginwardly to lock it in position. Y l

3. A split ring adapted to be applied to a container or similar article,said split ring having an outer surface which is substantially U-shape,said ring being adapted to have its ends abutting each other when incontracted condition, means for contracting and expanding said ringsaidmeans comprising a lever pivoted to one end of said ring, a link pivotedto the other end oi said ring and to said lever intermediate its ends,said lever being substantially U-shape in cross-section so that when itis swung inwardly into contact with said ring it will fit around andembrace said ring. said link also having a portion which issubstantially U-shape in cross-section so that when it isswun'g inwardlyinto contact with said ring it will nt around and embrace lsaid ring,said portion being so disposed that -it will overlap the adjacent endsof said ring and will hold them in alignment with eachother,

means for locking said lever after it has been f moved inwardly into itsilnal position, said means comprising a second lever pivoted to saidring adjacent the tree end of said' iirst lever, the pivoted end of saidsecond lever comprising a cam eccentrically rotatable on said pivot, the

adjacent free end o't said first lever having aprojection which inoperative position substantially contacts said cam, said projection andsaid cam aid in moving into iinal locking position said rst moving intoits nal positi said second lever being substantially U-shape incross-sectionsim- -ila to the ilrst lever so that it will embrace saidfirst-lever when swung inwardly to'lock it in position, andmea'ns forlocking said second lever in embracing relationship to the rst lever,said means comprising interiltting portions formed on adjacent surfacesof the two 'levers tothe iirst lever.

lever as said second lever is `which frictionally engage each other whenthe second lever is swung into embracing relationship y vmuster A.sco'i'r.

